Hair-Brained
by ddproxcm
Summary: There's something horribly, terribly wrong happening and Robin is determined to stop it. Can one man stop nature's process? Will Robin play with the cards that he's been dealt or will he fold under pressure? I guess there is only one way to find out. ;)


**.:. Prologue .:.**

" _What the fuck?_ "

Dick gasped as he leaned forward, edging as close to one of the gym's wall-to-wall mirrors as he could. At one time, he thought this many mirrors in a gym was a good thing, but now, he felt they were all taunting him, laughing at his unfortunate discovery.

"Is that what I think…" his voice dropped as he continued to rake his hands through his raven-colored locks, pulling each section of hair tight against his scalp.

He felt the anxiety rise into his lungs as his breathing hit double-time. Things like this, they don't just happen overnight. Was there a sign that he missed? One that could have avoided this panic attack he was currently having?

This was horrific, absolutely devastating! How would he ever be able to show his face in public again?! He took a deep breath before adjusting his hair back to a suitable bed-head-but-not-really, style.

"This can't be happening to me."

Twenty-five.

He was only _twenty-five?!_ Only a few years younger than his parents before they died. His memory usually failed him when it came to recalling specific details about his parents, but he closed his eyes anyway, trying to jog it. Had his dad gone through this? _His mother_?

"I think I would have remembered something like that."

 _Where was this genetic deficiency coming from?!_

He scowled at himself in the mirror, "There's just no way."

"There is no way, what?" Dick jumped at the sound of Kory's voice. He straightened up and pulled himself together as she stared at him, confused, from the gym's doorway. "What were you doing? Why are you talking to yourself?"

As he stood stiff in front of her, wide-eyed and silent - a gesture not unseen by his red-headed partner -insecurities began to eat away at him.

Did she see it?

Could she tell?

Would she mention it even if she did?

"Earth to Dick," Kory walked up to him and shook his shoulders a little too harshly. "Is that the appropriate expression?"

"Stop," Dick managed to utter as a dizzy, uneasy feeling began to surface. "I'm starting to feel sick."

She quickly stopped and slapped her hand to his forehead. "You don't feel feverish."

"That's not what I meant," he gently removed her hand and slunk past her, desperately needing to get out of that room. "Don't worry about it, Kor. It's nothing...really."

There had to be a way to stop the process - accepting defeat just wasn't a suitable term in the Grayson vocabulary. He'd be able to google it soon, but now, he had to find a way to distract his more than curious girlfriend.

He looked over his shoulder and watched as Kory followed him down the hallway.

"Did something bad occur during your workout?" her innocent undertone soared through the hallways and spiked guilt straight into his heart.

 _Shit._

He hated doing this to her, but what choice did he have? He couldn't just _tell her_ the whole truth, not now, at least. She would never understand. As much as he loved Kory and her naivete about certain "occurrences," this wasn't exactly a topic that he wanted to talk about, nevermind discuss it for hours.

No, he needed to figure it all out first, get a game plan together. Then, he could worry her with all the details. After all, this decision would pan out better in the long run - for _everyone._

He glanced over his shoulder, judging her proximity from him. His conscience nagged at him, telling him that it wasn't necessary to do this, that he was stronger than that.

He muttered a quick "sorry" under his breath before reaching into his utility belt.

"Hey Kory! Look over there!"

"What?!" Kory turned toward the direction Dick pointed and he quickly dropped a smoke pellet at his feet before running toward his bedroom.

"Oh God," he mumbled, looking over his shoulder as he typed in the code to open his door. "Hurry!"

The smoke wall would be able to hold her back, but only for about 30 seconds; he looked over toward it before entering his room and slamming the door shut behind him.

"Override code access." Dick spoke to the monitor on his wall. "I'm sorry, babe," he yelled at the metal door, hoping that she'd be able to hear him on the other side. "I'll explain everything later."

He stuck his ear to the door, trying to listen for a response - nothing. He nodded, satisfied, before walking over to his desk to power up his computer.

"Good morning, Richard," his computer spoke to him as he flopped down onto his bed, defeated. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

"Yes, P.E.R.I, there is," he swallowed hard, "I just need to figure out how to say it without wanting to throw up."

"Very well, do let me know when you are ready for me." the computer responded.

"You can do this," Dick said to himself, trying to reconstruct his self-esteem. "It's all going to be okay. You're going to search for a solution, find one that works and then laugh about how silly this all was."

He took a deep breath.

"P.E.R.I."

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you to run an online search for me."

There was no going back now; this was the moment he had to admit it to himself, the first step on the road to recovery is admission.

"I need to know how to treat male pattern baldness."

 **Author's Note: Hey there, guys and gals. It's been awhile since I've posted anything - sorry about that, btdubs - but I have good reasons. I had this idea for a story pop into my head and since I had some free-time, decided to type up a prologue to see if it gained any interest.**

 **Feel free to offer constructive criticism if you feel inclined, I thrive on it.**

 **I hope everyone likes it! It'll be a little break from the angst (but I promise that I** _ **will**_ **work on Home, I am in the process of re-outlining it. So hopefully look for an update very soon. :)**


End file.
